(John 6:1-13) "After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up in a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Phillip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. Phillip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelves baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which had remained over and above unto them that had eaten."
Many times in life we encounter situations where we can't see how it's possible to can meet our daily obligations regardless what they may be. We have some upcoming bills that need to be paid and there's not finances sufficient to cover the costs. Or you may have lost your job and you live in an area where the unemployment rate is unusually high. It doesn't seem possible that you locate a job to provide a living. You may be experiencing a fatal illness. Unless God intervenes in a dramatic way, then the time you have left to live is very short. There may be other problems you're facing and you see no way out. You're in need for the Lord to perform a miracle in your life. Without God's divine intervention, your whole world will crumble. How many times have people experienced those kinds of situations. That's happened numerous times. However, God's arm isn't shortened when it comes to supplying our daily needs. The Bible says in Philippians 4:19 that God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Psalms 50:10 says he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalms 37:25 says that I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. The Lord finds ways of supplying our needs even when the figures don't add up mathematically. We fail to recognize as Christians that God's ways are higher than man's ways. God's not bound to the laws of nature or the world's system when it comes to meeting our needs. God knows how to meet our needs even when all signs say it's hopeless. However, God has the last word.
When you read about Jesus feeding the five thousand, it's obvious that five barley loaves and two small fishes aren't going to feed the crowd that's gathered around Jesus. With the small amount of food that was available, how could five barley loaves and two small fishes feed a crowd? Naturally speaking, it wouldn't be possible. However, Jesus was in control. He had the men to sit down. He blessed the bread and gave thanks and it was distributed unto the crowd. After the crowd finished eating, Jesus instructed his disciples to gather up the fragments of the barley loaves that remain. When they gathered up all the fragments, there were twelve baskets full which was over and above what the crowd had eaten once they were filled. How did that happen? How could that be possible? There's no way to figure that out scientifically speaking. There was no logical explanation for it. When Jesus entered into the equation, that changed everything. Once Jesus blessed the bread and brake it, there was more than enough bread and fishes to go around the great crowd of people. There were twelve baskets over and above what had been eaten. Nobody left hungry. That was a miracle of God. There's no way that five barley loaves and two small fishes can feed a crowd of five thousand. That proves that God's not handicapped when it comes to doing the impossible.
Over the two thousand years since Jesus had ascended into Heaven, there have been numerous scholarly critics that have tried to debunk the miracles of Jesus. There have been those that have tried to present a scientific explanation to explain the miracles of Jesus and the truths of the Bible. German Higher Criticism was employed by theological seminaries in the nineteenth century to discredit the Word of God. Thankfully that can't be done because the Bible is of spiritual discernment. Also, God's Word stands on its own. God's ways make no sense to the world. You can't take a calculator or utilize the scientific method to prove how God makes things happen. I'm thankful God's not limited when it comes to proving himself. God doesn't need man's help to do the impossible. God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
The Bible is replete with examples of God performing the miraculous. The parting of the Red Sea was a miracle of God. There's no way to scientifically explain how God parted the Red Sea. We could also go to I Kings 17 where Elijah went to this widow lady who was preparing her last meal for her and her son. Elijah told her to make it for him. She did as Elijah instructed and she never ran out of meal. How did the meal and cruse of oil endure? I don't know, but when God's in the picture, then there's a way. There are things you can't explain. I've heard God's people testify over and over about being in a financial jam and there was no way humanly speaking to pay their bills at the due date. However, God touched a person's heart to give them the finances they needed to pay their bill on time. You can't outsmart God. God works in ways that's beyond man's ability. I can remember reading in a biography a few years ago about the late great Baptist preacher Percy Ray getting ready to dedicate some Southern Baptist Churches that were recently built. Dr. Ray never would dedicate to the Lord unless it was debt free. To my recollection, there were some churches that were in debt that were to be dedicated. Dr. Ray would pray with a group of men to supply the financial needs to those churches. If my memory serves me correct, the money came through before the end of the day. How did that happen? God made it happen. It's something that man can't explain. Dr. Ray trusted God and believed the Lord would supply the need. God supplied the financial need for those particular churches. Some things you can't explain. Some things don't make sense to the carnal mind.
When we read about the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000, we need to recognize that God's not bound by nature, the laws or man, or logic when it comes to meeting the needs of his people. God doesn't needs man's wisdom to perform miracles. God's been a God of the miraculous in the Old and New Testaments. Even when things don't add up from man's perspective, God always finds a way. That's how great God is!
No comments:
Post a Comment